§ Mr. H. MORRISONasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the London County Council desires to erect weather screens on the Victoria Embankment under Charing Cross and Waterloo bridges for the protection of tramway passengers who congregate at those points in large numbers throughout the day; and, in view of the widths of the riverside footway at the parts affected, will he say why the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has refused to agree to the provision of these shelters?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI am informed by the Commissioner of Police that the original proposal was to erect small wind screens of a more or less temporary nature, and to this he offered no objection. The present proposal is to construct a permanent roofed-in shelter, and the Commissioner regards this as open to objection on the ground that any reduction of the width of the footway, such as these proposals would entail, offers a corresponding inducement to pedestrians to step into the roadway—one of the most common causes of the large number of accidents that occur daily. In the case of Charing Cross, moreover, he feels grave doubt whether the proposed erections would not cause serious obstruction and possible danger.